In Canada you can find dogs，cats，horses，etc．in almost every family．These are their pets．People love these pets and have them as their good friends．Before they keep them in their houses，they take them to animal hospitals to give them injections so that they won’t carry disease．They have special animal food stores，though they can get animal food in almost every kind of store．Some people spend around two hundred Canadian dollars a month on animal food．When you visit people’s houses，they would be very glad to show you their pets and they are very proud of them．You will also find that almost every family has a bird feeder in their garden．All kinds of birds are welcomed to come and have a good meal．They are free to come and go and nobody is allowed to kill any animal in Canada．They have a law against killing wild animals．If you killed an animal，you would be punished．If an animal happened to get run over by a car，people would be very sad about it．
People in Canada have many reasons to like animals．One of them might be：Their family ties are not as close as ours．When children grow up， they leave their parents and start their own life．Then the old will feel lonely．But pets can solve this problem．They can be good friends and never leave them alone．（词数242）The passage mainly talks about ．
| A．how to keep disease from pets | B．pets in Canada |
| C．how to take good care of pets | D．life of the old in Canada |
In Canada，children leave their parents when they grow up because ．
| A．they don’t love their parents any more |
| B．they can only find jobs far from their parents |
| C．their parents’ houses are too small |
| D．they wouldn’t depend on their parents any more |
Which of the following is TRUE？
| A．People buy animal food only at the animal food stores. |
| B．Pets eat better than people． |
| C．Almost every family has a birdcage in his house． |
| D．Any bird can come to the bird feeders to eat． |
Reading for pleasure is declining among primary-age pupils, and increasing numbers of "time poor" parents are dropping the practice of sharing bedtime stories with their children once they start school.
Research presented to a conference last week found that, while parents read to preschoolers , this later tails off, and by the final year of primary school only around 2% read to their children every day. Once children can read skillfully, parents tend to step back, and this usually happens at the age of seven or eight. The report also found that 820-/o of teachers blame the government's " target-. driven" education policies for the fact that fewer children are reading for pleasure.
They believe that a straitjacket (束缚) of strictly organized schooling is containing young people's ability to read more widely. Two-thirds of teachers surveyed said they lacked time in the school day to introduce a variety of books and that this was a " major obstacle to being able to develop a level of reading". Teachers also cited as main factors the reduction in the number of school librarians, who could put interesting books before children, and the rise in "screen time", switching children from reading to playing games.
The majority of teachers said the curriculum's (课程) " emphasis on reading as a skill to be mastered" was increasing the pressure. This was compounded by parents who saw reading just as a focus of learning, a skill critical to career advancement in a competitive world.
Reading habits and the digital revolution in publishing were key topics of debate at the conference. The theme of the lack of British culture was supported by children's writer Frank Cottrell Boyce, who wrote the scripts(手稿 ) for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2012 Olympics.
“We discovered the whole nation had forgotten that they did the industrial revolution," he said.
"Books are so central to it; books can be written by anyone. A lot of the pleasure of a book is listening to somebody read it to you. "
"We found a real love of reading al110ng teachers, and a strong desire ,to encourage more children to read for pleasure ,”said Rob Cheney," However ,the teachers also had an overpowering sense of frustration with their situation." "Touch-screen phone and tablets are naturally attractive to children," the survey said, and predicted a period of awkwardness as everyone else adapts. By 2018, children's television will have adopted the presence of this second screen ,and it "will be strange not to have children ,at home drawing along on tablets and then having these appearing live in the show ".
The hope is “that user-friendly screens could, if material is adapted and downloaded easily, present an opportunity for more ambitious publishing - for example, books children can either read or choose to have read to them; or digital books with moving pictures instead of photos to clarify factual and scientific points. Parental controls that are easy to use would be key, the conference was told, such as "a warning for when devices use the Wi-Fi, especially after bedtimes", to allow parents to shut off access to children in the home.What leads to parents' dropping the practice of sharing bedtime stories with their children?
| A．Children have less time to spend with their parents after they start school. |
| B．Parents chink it unnecessary to do so when children can read themselves. |
| C．The government’s education policies have placed much burden on children. |
| D．Children don't like parents reading stories to them when they are seven or eight. |
Which of the following is not teachers' point of view?
| A．Children are prevented from reading widely enough in school. |
| B．Schools pay attention to reading skills instead of reading for fun. |
| C．Playing video games reduces children's time spent on reading. |
| D．School libraries can't provide good books for lack of money. |
The word "compounded" (Paragraph 4) most probably means ______.
| A．worsened | B．preserved | C．reduced | D．improved |
It can be inferred from the article that _____
| A．children don't like reading because books are not attractive |
| B．British people enjoyed reading books very much in the past |
| C．teachers forbid their students co read more books for fun |
| D．children should enjoy more freedom to use the Wi-Fi at home |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Parents should set a limit to their children's using electric devices at hoI11e. |
| B．Children are encouraged to read as l11any interesting books as they can. |
| C．Children miss out on pleasures of reading a good book in modern life. |
| D．Experts appeals to the government to reduce the heavy burden on children. |
While drunken driving may be on the decline, traffic safety experts remain puzzled over how to deal with another alcohol related danger: drunken pedestrians(行人).
Pedestrians struck and killed by cars often are extremely drunk. In fact, they are intoxicated(喝醉的) more frequently and with higher blood alcohol levels than drunken drivers who are killed in accidents, various studies have shown. Forty percent of adult pedestrians involved in fatal crashes have a blood alcohol level of at least 0.10 which by law in most states signifies intoxication compared to only 25 percent of drivers in deadly accidents, according to recent federal data.
Some types of pedestrain accidents have been declining nationally, especially those involving children, but the number of adult pedestrians who are drunk when killed in traffic has remained relatively steady at 2500 a year. The total number of pedestrians killed annually in U.S. traffic accidents is at least 7000, or one of every seven highway accidents resulting in death.
“We’re dealing here, we think, with a very severe drinking problem that leads to a severe highway safety problem,” said Richard Blomberg, president of Dunlap and Associates Inc, in Norwalk, Coon.
Blomberg, whose consulting company found a very high rate of alcohol involvement in a controlled study of pedestrian accidents in New Orleans, was among several researchers who spoke on the topic at the annual meeting of the Research council’s Transportation Research Board(TRB) in Washington in January.
Pedestrian accidents have not received enough attention in the past, according to Kay Colpitts, who chairs the board’s committee on pedestrians. Few methods exist to monitor walking habits, she said, and researchers have been mystified（迷惑不解） about how to prevent disasters.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Traffic Safety. |
| B．Drunken Drivers. |
| C．Drunken Pedestrian Accidents. |
| D．A Severe Highway Safety Problem. |
Among the causes of walkers’ accidents, the most serious problem is ________.
| A．long delays in traffic signals that may make people cross streets ignoring traffic rules |
| B．the alcohol level in their blood which is too high. |
| C．a lack of adult keeping eyes on many children involved in accidents |
| D．former drunken drivers whose licenses are not allowed to use for a time |
According to recent federal data, drunken drivers with an over 0.10 blood alcohol level in deadly accidents ____.
| A．are 15 percent less than drunken adult walkers with the same level |
| B．are 2500 a year in US traffic accidents |
| C．are at least 7000 in US traffic accidents |
| D．make up one seventh of highway accidents |
According to the passage, what is Blomberg?
| A．A researcher. |
| B．A specialist in traffic safety. |
| C．A clerk of a consulting company. |
| D．A government official |
Across the rich world, well-educated people increasingly work longer than the less-skilled. Some 65% of American men aged 62-74 with a professional degree are in the workforce, compared with 32% of men with only a high-school certificate. This gap is part of a deepening divide between the well-education well off and the unskilled poor. Rapid technological advance has raised the incomes of the highly skilled while squeezing those of the unskilled. The consequences, for individual and society, are profound.
The world is facing as astonishing rise in the number of old people, and they will live longer than ever before. Over the next 20 years the global population of those aged 65 or more will almost double, from 600 million to 1.1 billion. The experience of the 20th century, when greater longevity translated into more years in retirement rather than more years at work, has persuaded many observers that this shift will lead to slower economic growth, while the swelling ranks of pensioners will create government budget problems.
But the notion of a sharp division between the working young and the idle old misses a new trend, the growing gap between the skilled and the unskilled. Employment rates are falling among younger unskilled people, whereas older skilled folk are working longer. The divide is most extreme in America, where well-educated baby-boomers (二战后生育高峰期出生的美国人) are putting off retirement while many less-skilled younger people have dropped out of the workforce.
That even the better-off must work longer to have a comfortable retirement. But the changing nature of work also plays a big role. Pay has risen sharply for the highly educated, and those people continue to reap rich rewards into old age because these days the educated elderly are more productive than the preceding generation. Technological change may well reinforce that shift: the skills that complement computers, from management knowhow to creativity. Do not necessarily decline with age.what is happening in the workforce in rich countries?
| A．younger people are replacing the elderly |
| B．well-educated people tend to work longer |
| C．unemployment rates are rising year after year |
| D．people with no college degree do not easily find work |
what has helped deepen the divide between the well-off and poor?
| A．Longer life expectancies |
| B．Profound changes in the workforce |
| C．rapid technological advance. |
| D．A growing number of well-graduated. |
what do many observers predict in view of the experience of the 20th century?
| A．Economic growth will slow down. |
| B．Government budgets will increase. |
| C．More people will try to pursue higher education |
| D．There will be more competition in the job market. |
What is the result of policy changes in European countries?
| A．Unskilled workers may choose to retire early. |
| B．more people have to receive in-service training. |
| C．Even wealthy people must work longer to live comfortably in retirement. |
| D．People may be able to enjoy generous defined-benefits from pension plans. |
What is characteristic of work in the 21st century?
| A．Computers will do more complicated work. |
| B．More will be taken by the educated young. |
| C．Most jobs to be done will be creative ones. |
| D．Skills are highly valued regardless of age. |
Tour A--Bath & Stonehenge including entrance fees to the ancient Roman bathrooms and Stonehenge--￡37until 26 March and ￡39 thereafter.
Visit the city with over 2,000 years of history and Bath Abbey, the Royal Crescent and the Costume Museum. Stonehenge is one of the world’s most famous prehistoric monuments dating back over 5,000 years.
Tour B--Oxford & Stratford including entrance fees to the University St Mary’s Church Tower and Anne Hathaway's house一￡32 until 12 March and ￡36 thereafter.
Oxford: Includes a guided tour of England’s oldest university city and colleges. Look over the “city of dreaming spires(尖顶)”form St Mary’s Church Tower. Stratford: Includes a guided tour exploring much of the Shakespeare wonder.
Tour C—Windsor Castle & Hampton Court including entrance fees to Hampton Court Palace--£34 until 11 March and £37 thereafter.
Includes a guided tour of Windsor and Hampton Court, HenryⅧ’s favourite palace. Free time to visit Windsor Castle（entrance fees not included）. With 500 years of history, Hampton Court was once the home of four Kings and one Queen. Now this former royal palace is open to the public as a major tourist attraction. Visit the palace and its various historic gardens, which include the famous maze(迷宫)where it is easy to get lost!
Tour D--Cambridge including entrance fees to the Tower of Saint Mary the Great--£33 until 18 March and £37 thereafter.
Includes a guided tour of Cambridge, the famous university town, and the gardens of the 18th century.[来Which tour will you choose if you want to see England’s oldest university city?
| A．Tour A | B．Tour B | C．Tour C | D．Tour D |
Which of the following tours charges the lowest fee on 17 March?
| A．Windsor Castle & Hampton Court. |
| B．Oxford & Stratford |
| C．Bath &Stonehenge. |
| D．Cambridge. |
Why is Hampton Court a major tourist attraction?
| A．It used to be the home of royal families. |
| B．It used to be a well-known maze |
| C．It is the oldest palace in Britain |
| D．It is a world-famous castle. |
Your house may have an effect on your figure . Experts say the way you design your home could play a role in whether you pack on the pounds or keep them off. You can make your environment work for you instead of against you. Here are some ways to turn your home into part of your diet plan.
Open the curtains and turn up the lights . Dark environments are more likely to encourage overeating , for people are often less self-conscious（难为情）when they’re in poorly lit places--and so more likely to eat lots of food . If your home doesn’t have enough window light, get more lamps and flood the place with brightness.
Mind the colors. Research suggests warm colors fuel our appetites. In one study, people who ate meals in a blue room consumed 33 percent less than those in a yellow or red room. Warm colors like yellow make food appear more appetizing, while cold colors make us feel less hungry. So when it’s time to repaint, go blue.
Don’t forget the clock-or the radio. People who eat slowly tend to consume about 70 fewer calories（卡路里） per meal than those who rush through their meals. Begin keeping track of the time, and try to make dinner last at least 30 minutes. And while you’re at it, actually sit down to eat. If you need some help slowing down, turn on relaxing music. It makes you less likely to rush through a meal.
Downsize the dishes. Big serving bowls and plates can easily make us fat. We eat about 22 percent more when using a 12-inch plate instead of a 10-inch plate. When we choose a large spoon over a smaller one ,total intake（摄入） jumps by 14 percent. And we’ll pour about 30 percent more liquid into a short, wide glass than a tall, skinny glass.The text is especially helpful for those who care about_______.
| A．their home comforts | B．their body shape |
| C．house buying | D．healthy diets |
A home environment in blue can help people_________.
| A．digest food better | B．reduce food intake |
| C．burn more calories | D．regain their appetites |
What are people advised to do at mealtimes?
| A．Eat quickly. | B．Play fast music. |
| C．Use smaller spoons. | D．Turn down the lights. |
What can be a suitable title for the test?
| A．Is Your House Making You Fat? |
| B．Ways of Serving Dinner |
| C．Effects of Self-Consciousness |
| D．Is Your Home Environment Relaxing? |